


Trickster Wind

by sugarlevels



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Fluff, M/M, basically nezha's just dicking around, damn this is so stupid but i love them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-10
Updated: 2019-06-10
Packaged: 2020-04-23 23:23:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19161112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarlevels/pseuds/sugarlevels
Summary: The Jewel Resort Casino-- known for its various gambles and games, the alcohol and booze, and not to mention the bustling noises from the customers as they discarded their earnings into larger and larger stakes upon the golden machines and the deck of cards.So just what was Nezha planning by dragging Baal to the infamous hotel?





	Trickster Wind

**Author's Note:**

> In actual folklore, Nezha's supposedly the patron of gambling and is mischievous enough to manipulate the odds and favours to his will.  
> So... considering there _is_ an actual casino in gbf...  
> huehue  
> enjoy  
> ouo

"And just what, exactly, are we doing here, Nezha?" Baal sighed out, eyeing his wind friend before his crimson gaze traveled below them to the pale orange skies of the setting sun-- spotting a large velvet and gold airship drifting beneath their floating figures. And although Baal had never dabbled upon the bustling ship amongst his travels across the clouds, he knew of its infamous secluded walls from his time posing as a regular skyfarer and not as a musical earth primal beast.

The Jewel Resort Casino-- known for its various gambles and games, the alcohol and booze, and not to mention the bustling noises from the customers as they discarded their earnings into larger and larger stakes upon the golden machines and the deck of cards.

So just what was Nezha planning by dragging Baal to the infamous hotel?

Baal's nose scrunched. All he hoped was that the airship was properly managed to avoid any unnecessary conflict. He had heard from the twin captains on the Grandcypher that the owner was one of a kind, but whether that was meant to be a good or bad thing was left for Baal to decide.

Nezha let out an amused chuckle, bringing the earth primal out of his own thoughts and back to his companion, "we're simply enjoying our time off. Neither of us have a sparring session to attend to, so why not take a look at what this airship has to offer?"

"I'd think that you'd be rather disappointed at having no scheduled sparring session," Baal hummed, mindlessly strumming his guitar, "if anything, I'd say you'd bother Gran or Djeeta until you had your fill for the day."

The wind primal laughed, "I suppose I can't deny that I wouldn't. Though, I've been rather interested in how the skyfarers gamble-- you could say that my curiosity has overridden my wish to fight."

"That's surprising," Baal mused, with Hannibal meowing out his agreement, "but why drag me along?" He sighed.

"I've said it already haven't I? You don't have anything better to do. Well, to be precise, you're quite frankly doing the _best_ thing with your time already-- spending time with _me_ ," Nezha hummed, drifting an inch closer to Baal's form, "what will you do besides come along with me? When you have nothing to do, you typically come to me either way."

Baal grimaced, a faint pink lining his pale cheeks as he floated away from his wind friend (also earning a dissatisfied grumble from Hannibal). "Be quiet," he hissed.

Nezha let out another laugh, effortlessly flying back to Baal's side. "I'm only stating the facts," he mused, reaching out a hand to pet the purple feline upon the earth primal's shoulder. "In any case, we should get going. We don't want to stay out for too long, even us primal beasts need our rest every now and then."

Baal scoffed, turning away from the wind primal, "tell me that when you're not ravaging through a forest in the middle of the night."

Nezha only chuckled at his friend's retort, snapping his fingers. A gust of wind engulfed his form before it whisked away to reveal the wind primal in a black suit and tie, completed with black gloves and his signature blue scarf wrapped loosely around his shoulders. His dusty blue gaze went back to Baal, smirking, "well?" He asked, adjusting his midnight tie.

Baal frowned, "it's different from your regular skyfarer attire," he mused.

"It would be strange for me to walk into a casino so casually," Nezha hummed, "why? Does the suit not fit your taste?"

The earth primal blinked, hesitating in his reply. But, unfortunately for him, Hannibal let out a purr and a flick of his tail-- which led his owner to glare at him, and for the wind primal to let out a soft chuckle. "It seems I have nothing to worry over, then," Nezha mused, a hand on his chin.

Baal merely tsked, ignoring the pink upon his cheeks as he strummed his instrument. His signature primal outfit melted away from his body and was quickly replaced by a simple white button up and black overalls accompanying his similar midnight pants and shoes. His crimson gaze went to Hannibal, who gave an affirmative nod at his change in attire, before going to his wind companion-- who gave a smirk and a laugh at the earth primal. "Not bad at all!"

Baal only huffed in reply, moving his plasma guitar to sit behind his back, tightening its strap along his chest. "Are we going or what?"

Nezha smiled, reaching out to take Baal's hand into his gloved one. And although his grin only widened seeing the pink that immediately clustered upon the latter's cheeks, he quickly led the way through the clouds and to the bright airship below them-- gracefully landing on the wooden deck of the ship before helping Baal the rest of the way down (although he didn't need to).

"Wasn't flying a bit suspicious?" Baal voiced quietly, frowning.

"Everyone's far too busy to care about others unless they're opponents-- it goes with battle as well," Nezha hummed, gently squeezing his companion's hand. "... But I suppose there _are_ exceptions," he hummed shortly after, drifting his dusty blue gaze away from Baal and to an approaching male figure-- the former quirking a brow as the stranger stopped short in front of them.

"Welcome! Are you two patrons of our dearest Jewel Resort?" The male greeted, smiling.

Nezha grinned, "yes, that's correct. Are we allowed to enter?"

"Of course, absolutely! Come right this way!" The employee spun on his heel, gesturing with his hand for them to follow as he led the way to the large velvet doors of the casino.

The wind primal turned his head back to the earth primal, dropping the latter's hand to instead offer an outstretched arm. "Shall we?" He smirked.

Baal blinked, face suddenly turning red at the gesture, before scoffing and averting his gaze-- hesitantly clasping his hand on Nezha's arm and earning a purr from his purple pet. The wind primal's grin widened, a soft chuckle escaping his parted lips as he led the way once more into the glowing casino.

And Baal didn't know about Nezha, but the atmosphere of the hotel was definitely surprising to say the least. The earth primal had expected the interior to be littered with the reek of booze and crazed gamblers, but was instead met with a classy set of employees and skyfarers alike who excitedly laughed and played to their heart's content. The glowing lights provided a bright and welcoming scenery, paired with the soft velvet carpets and the orchestra in the far back of the casino.

Baal blinked, the music wasn't all too bad, so he supposed he could last for a while.

A rabbit dressed employee waltzed towards them, smiling in greeting at the pair of disguised primal beasts, "welcome to the Jewel Resort! Newcomers to the casino can find the chip booth at the right for exchanging!" She greeted, gesturing with her gloved hand to the golden booth to the far right before offering them a glass of champagne from her platter.

Nezha smiled, "thank you," he mused, taking a glass before turning his head to Baal-- who shook his head.

"No problem! We hope you enjoy your stay!" She bowed, grinning as she walked away to another group of guests.

"Did you even bring money?" Baal hummed out, watching as the wind primal took a curious sip from the glass.

Nezha chuckled, "who said we needed money?"

The earth primal furrowed his brows, "this is a _casino_ , Nezha. You're unwanted unless you have money," he hissed.

" _I'm_ unwanted? _A primal beast_?" He hummed, dusty blue eyes narrowing in mischief as a wide grin spread across his lips. "I believe I can have a little fun in here."

Baal let out a long sigh, "honestly, I should've expected this much, coming from you," he hissed, watching as Hannibal jumped onto the wind primal's shoulder, swishing his purple tail.

Nezha merely laughed, dragging his companion to the array of golden slot machines and easily being able to find a vacant seat in the far back. Grinning, the wind primal sat down on the chair before patting his thigh with his free hand, turning to Baal. And although the earth primal was hesitant, he eventually took his seat upon Nezha's leg, with the latter loosely wrapping his arm around the former's waist.

With a small hum, Nezha downed the rest of the sparkling champagne before setting it off to the side and placing his gloved hand upon the green _'spin'_ button of the slot machine.

Baal quirked a brow up, narrowing his crimson eyes, "how are you going to spin without any-"

But the gray haired primal beast cut himself off when Nezha's hand glowed with a green light, a gentle swirl of wind encasing his digits as he pushed the golden encrusted button. The machine hummed, a strange buzzing noise escaping out of its gears that made Baal question whether his companion broke the poor device or not. But fortunately enough, the humming ceased as the slots began to move in a disorderly fashion before eventually stopping-- three identical bar symbols appearing on the pale white wheels.

Baal let out a large sigh, following Nezha's gaze as red and gold chips escaped from the port in the machine. "You're rather mischievous today, aren't you?" He grumbled.

"Aren't I always?" Nezha argued, humming, "but all I said was that I was curious. It seems these machines aren't immune to the effects of primal beasts."

"Because no _ordinary_ skyfarer would think to make them immune," Baal hissed, "who would think that a primal beast would come to gamble?" Without waiting for a reply, Baal averted his gaze to the signs above the golden slot machine, blinking, "do you think ten thousand chips is enough?" He huffed.

The wind primal hummed, exchanging a glance with Hannibal, "you're right... one hundred thousand should do it." And with his words, Nezha gave a light tap to the machine, making the device churn and rumble before another mass amount of chips flew from its port.

"Is this all you came here for? To tinker about with the slot machines?" Baal grumbled.

"Of course not," Nezha scoffed, gently nudging the earth primal off of his leg before crouching down, pulling out a large pouch from who knows where and scooping up the chips. "I want to test my skills in cards as well. We have all of these chips to spare, after all," he smirked.

The earth primal merely grunted, watching his companion stand back up and swing the haul of currency over his shoulder before outstretching his arm for the former once again.

Baal rolled his eyes. Causing mischief yet _still_ proceeds to act the gentleman part.

A small smile grew upon his lips. _What a joke._

Taking his companion's arm, he let the wind primal drag him to the various tables on the other side of the casino-- where customers excitedly huddled around a velvet table with plastic cards in their hands as they dealt chips for the highest hand.

The stench of alcohol was much more prominent here, but Baal wasn't very surprised.

And upon taking a few more steps into the play area, a tall erune dealer spotted them from a mile away, almost immediately waving to them in greeting. "Welcome! Are you two folks looking for a vacant spot? We have one right here!" He shouted, smiling.

Nezha exchanged a sly smirk with Baal before waltzing over to the large table, grinning as he met the gaze of the dealer, "I hope I won't be disappointed," he hummed, tossing his bag of chips onto the ground before taking a seat, crossing his legs.

"You have quite the confidence there! And the chips to back it up, I presume?" One of the players laughed.

"Of course," Nezha grinned, "I'm here to bet to my heart's content. Or is that not what I'm supposed to do in this casino?"

"Well said sir!" The dealer boomed, taking a new deck of cards into his hands before turning his deep gaze to Baal, "is your friend here joining us as well? We can squeeze in another player."

Baal shook his head before Nezha could protest, "I'll simply spectate," he voiced, reaching out to gather Hannibal in his arms from his companion's shoulder (and earning a whine from the feline at that).

"As you wish," the dealer nodded, "then, we shall begin this round of poker. What bet shall it be?"

"One thousand chips," Nezha immediately voiced, his gaze glued onto the stack of cards in the dealer's hand.

"Oho! Excited, are you?" A player mused, "I can call on that!"

The rest of the players hummed their agreements, placing their chips upon the carpeted table.

"And just how, exactly, do you plan to win, Nezha?" Baal hissed under his breath, eyeing his companion as the dealer dealt the crimson cards.

"Do what you've always had, Baal-- _trust me_ ," Nezha mused, picking up his cards.

Baal's lips formed a thin line, doubting his companion's words, before his gaze finally landed on his companion's deck.

"... You aren't making this easy for them, are you?" Baal sighed, shaking his head in disappointment.

The wind primal only smiled at him, gaze floating back to the large table as the other players finished discarding their cards and obtaining new ones to their hand. The dealer turned to Nezha, perking a brow, "and would you like to change your cards, sir?"

"Not at all, I'm fine where I stand," the disguised primal beast hummed.

"That cockiness will get you nowhere!" One of the players boomed, slamming down his hand, " _four of a kind_!"

Hushed murmurs went around the velvet table, the other players releasing their cards to reveal nothing in compared to the other skyfarer's deck.

Well, besides Nezha.

Baal let out another sigh, "stop teasing them, will you?"

The wind primal laughed, but threw down his cards, grinning, " _royal straight flush_."

"W-What!?"

"This can't be!"

The dealer's eyes were wide, mouth hung open in shock, "h-how... it's a one in six hundred, forty-nine thousand, seven hundred and forty chance in getting a royal straight flush..."

"Luck of the draw," Nezha hummed, shrugging his shoulders as Baal rolled his eyes.

"That's impossible! Trickery!"

"How can you get a royal straight flush so easily?!"

"You're insane!"

"And what's this I hear about a royal straight flush?"

All noises ceased in the room at the sound of a booming female voice, and both Baal and Nezha turned their heads around at the approaching figure.

A tall woman with long pink hair and a large navy coat rung around her shoulders waltzed her way towards the two primal beasts, her hand clasping a wide glass filled to the brim with crimson wine. Her brow perked up, frowning as she assessed the five cards Nezha had placed down.

"L-Lady Christina!"

"It's her!"

"Must be the owner of the casino..." Nezha mumbled to Baal, who only nodded.

"It indeed seems that you've managed to obtain a royal straight flush..." the female named Christina voiced, her eyes narrowing, "but tell me, you're newcomers to the Jewel Resort, aren't you? I do believe in luck, but it seems a bit odd that you'd manage to win all of these chips in such a short amount of time." Her blue gaze went sour, disgust pooling into their ocean hues, "do not tell me you've done some disgusting scheme in _my_ casino."

"Certainly not," Nezha mused, smirking, "I simply came here to gamble. Is that not a good enough reason?"

" _Nezha_..." Baal hissed under his breath, casting a warning glare at his companion.

Christina's frown deepened, her free hand coming to the whip attached to her waist (why she would carry that thing around was beyond Baal's comprehension). "There was only one other incident where my dear patrons of the casino were having unexpected amounts of luck, and that was due to a primal beast's manipulation. Tell me, what exactly is your name and where do you ail?"

_This was bad._

" _Well_..." Nezha hummed, standing up as he swung his pouch of coins over his shoulder, "I do believe that's a question for another day. I shall visit again some time, Ms. Christina. I certainly enjoyed my time here." And without waiting for a reply, Nezha's shoes burned with his signature flames as he sprinted out the velvet doors-- leaving a trail of burnt carpet and a bewildered cluster of customers in the resort.

And, unfortunately for Baal, Hannibal leapt from his arms to quickly follow after the wind primal beast.

What a traitor.

Tsking, Baal avoided Christina's deadly whip and went after his companion and pet, grabbing his plasma guitar from behind in preparation.

"After them you fools!"

It was times like these Baal was thankful to have a bit more speed than the average skyfarer.

The earth primal beast reached the wide deck outside of the casino, spotting his friend and feline not too far off from the ledge of the ship. Nezha caught his gaze, grinning wildly before outstretching his hand to Baal. And with a loud sigh and a roll of his eyes, Baal went up to his friend, letting him wrap his arm around his waist as a huddle of security guards flooded from the doors of the Jewel Resort-- Christina leading them.

"You won't be getting away!" She boomed, slamming her whip upon the wooden deck.

"I'd like to see you try," Nezha teased, jumping onto the ledge of the airship.

Christina tsked, giving another powerful slam of her whip as her men hurriedly began advancing towards them.

Nezha grinned, giving a nod of his head in farewell before he took a step back from the ledge, letting the two of them descend upon the midnight skies.

"Now, Baal!"

" _What_?" Baal hissed, casting an angry glance at his companion.

"To the Grandcypher!"

Baal let out a groan, which was quickly accompanied by the booming laughter of the wind primal beast. His hand glided over his guitar, strumming the silver strings upon his instrument as a purple vortex opened up from beneath them and swallowed their figures. And soon enough, the portal reopened from the skies above the large Grandcypher airship, where both him and Nezha plummeted onto the large wooden deck of the fluttering ship.

And whilst Baal was rethinking his friendships, Nezha laid splattered across the floorboards-- laughing wildly in a heap of adrenaline. "What fun!" He howled, tears pricking the corner of his eyes.

"You just _had_ to go and manipulate the deck," Baal hissed, slapping away Nezha's arm.

"How else was I supposed to win?" Nezha hummed in amusement, his laughing ceasing.

The earth primal sighed, turning around, "you won't be allowed into the resort ever again with this."

"That's fine," the wind primal mused, not having any of Baal's antics as he encircled his arm around the latter once more-- pulling him into his chest. "To be honest, I'm quite disappointed..." he hummed, his chin resting atop Baal's head.

" _Disappointed_? How?" Baal asked, bewildered.

"You didn't seem like you were having fun," Nezha murmured, closing his eyes, "all would have been for naught if you didn't enjoy yourself too."

Baal blinked, watching as Hannibal came to curl against his chest, purring as he licked Nezha's hand.

Well, it seemed like the answer was obvious based on what his feline was doing.

"... It was an odd experience," Baal started, and the wind primal gave a small grunt in reply, "but... I suppose I did. As long as you were enjoying yourself, I was as well," he mumbled, ignoring the faint pink upon his cheeks as Hannibal gave an affirmative meow.

Nezha smiled, his grip upon Baal tightening, "that's a relief, then..." he paused, "... say, let us go out into town in the morning."

"Why?"

"I heard there was a music festival happening," he lazily hummed out, "I thought you'd might like to go."

"Why would I-" Baal cut short in his words, feeling Nezha's breathing even out as he fell into a slumber. The earth primal blinked, exchanging a confused glance with his purple cat, who merely flicked his tail and grinned at his owner.

His crimson eyes narrowed, huffing out in frustration, "how can he sleep on the floorboards?" He sighed out, maneuvering himself out from Nezha's arm and instead into a kneeling position. Carefully, he lifted his companion's head from the wooden deck and onto his lap, making sure the wind primal was in a comfortable spot before Baal gripped his guitar once more.

Gliding his fingers across the silver strings, Baal hummed as he played a gentle tune upon his instrument, watching the midnight stars as they traveled along the sky. He paused, hesitating, before finally giving his reply, "... I'd like that," he murmured, oblivious to the smile on his lips.

He felt his companion stir from beneath him, his dusty blue eyes cracking open as he reached out with a lazy gloved hand to grasp Baal's pale one-- making him pause in his serenade. And although Baal raised a brow at Nezha's actions, his mouth formed a tight line in embarrassment upon watching as the wind primal intertwined his digits with his, squeezing his hand. "I knew you would," he drawled, grinning as he placed a firm kiss on the back of Baal's hand. "Allow me to do something nice in return for the mischief my curiosity has caused."

"I believe you'll need more than a simple day out in town to make up for all the times you've dragged me along your adventures," Baal hummed.

Nezha blinked, humming in thought. His free hand came to the wooden floorboards, using it as leverage as he leaned up to peck Baal on the lips, lingering for a moment longer until he drew back-- smirking at the red emerging upon the earth primal's cheeks. "Will that suffice?" He mused, eyes glinting with amusement.

"You're the worst," Baal hissed, shoving his companion's head back down onto his lap to hide his already evident embarrassment.

" _Oh_? I'd argue that a certain someone made me this way," Nezha teased, closing his eyes once more. "Well, of course, I'm not complaining about it either. I quite like it this way, don't you agree?"

Baal blinked, frowning. 

Although the earth primal would never truly admit it, he did in fact agree with his companion's statement. 

It was... _nice_ , in a strange and odd way. Of course, he had never expected his immortal life to turn out this way, but it seemed like fate willed it to.

That, or Nezha's wind did.

Either way, it was soothing for Baal. To have someone by his side and fill in the lonely void that only grew and grew from his days during the War-- even if that meant he was to be eternally stuck with a maniacal dual elemental primal beast who had an undying love for books, strangely enough.

So, instead of replying, Baal gave Nezha's hand a gentle squeeze, eliciting a soft laugh from the wind primal.

He supposed he wouldn't have any complaints staying like this for a while. 

* * *

"You guys went to the _Jewel Resort_!?" Gran shouted, bewildered as Baal immediately pressed an index finger upon the boy's lips, shushing the young twin captain. "I mean... _why_!?" He continued, albeit muffled yet lower in volume this time.

"Ask this idiot," Baal mumbled, sighing as his crimson gaze went to the sleeping figure of his wind primal companion, still laying upon his lap.

"How'd you like Christina?" Djeeta hummed, grinning.

"She's dangerous," Baal hissed.

Gran only nodded, whimpering, " _very_ dangerous."

**Author's Note:**

> Admittedly, not my proudest Natabaal fic unfortunately, but I hope it was still entertaining ! I made the games resemble the actual Jewel Resort Casino ingame, so they're not realistically accurate (especially poker) but yeah :'DDD
> 
> Also !! !! Special thank you to Chai (@.inanismortem) for cackling with me about Nezha's wack folklore and giving me some gud scenarios to write about... yum yum


End file.
